James Robbins (best known as J. Robbins) is an American rock musician.

Career

Robbins began his career as a bassist for

Government Issue Government Issue was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C. active from 1980 to 1989. The band experienced many changes in membership during its nine-year existence, with singer John Stabb as the only consistent member in an ever- ...

, and has also led five of his own bands:

Jawbox Jawbox is an American alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1989 by J. Robbins (vocals/guitar), Kim Coletta (bass), and Adam Wade (drums). After the trio released the album '' Grippe'' in 1991, Bill Barbot (guitar/vocals) joi ...

, Rollkicker Laydown,

Burning Airlines Burning Airlines was an American rock band from Washington, D.C. J. Robbins and Bill Barbot of Jawbox formed the band with Peter Moffett (formerly of Government Issue) in 1997. The band released two full-length albums, a self-titled 7", and ...

Channels Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

, and

Office of Future Plans Office of Future Plans was a music project that was started in 2009 by J. Robbins, the former bassist of Government Issue and frontman/guitarist of Jawbox, Burning Airlines and Channels. Other members are the guitarist/cellist Gordon Withers, ba ...

. He was a touring bassist for

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

and played bass on the debut 7" from Jack Potential, which was issued by DeSoto Records in 1993. More recently he played bass in Report Suspicious Activity with

Vic Bondi Vic Bondi is an American singer-songwriter and one of the founding members of political Chicago hardcore punk band Articles of Faith. He went on to form Alloy, and Jones Very after AoF's demise. At the time of AoF's original breakup Bondi was wo ...

, which released two albums on Alternative Tentacles Records. In 2011, Robbins, along with

Kerosene 454 Kerosene 454 was a punk rock band from Washington, D.C. They formed in 1992. The core of the group, brothers John and Jim Wall along with Erik Denno, went through a number of drummers before hooking up with Darren Zentek in time to record their ...

's drummer and fellow Channels bandmate Darren Zentek, bassist Brooks Harlan, and guitarist/cellist Gordon Withers, released an EP under the name

. The band, who had been playing since 2009 and released an album on

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles. ...

in November 2011, but as of October 2016, they are not together anymore. In May 31, 2019, J. Robbins released his first solo album, ''Un-Becoming''.

Producer

Robbins is also a successful producer and engineer for bands such as

Ponytail A ponytail is a hairstyle in which some, most or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip, or other similar accessory and allowed to hang freely from that poin ...

, Clutch (and side project The Bakerton Group), Jets to Brazil,

Hey Mercedes Hey Mercedes was an alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, United States, formed after the dissolution of Braid by its former members Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, and Damon Atkinson. History Early years and ''Everynight ...

, Shiner, Mock Orange
The Pauses
The Life and Times, Miranda Sound, Time Spent Driving,

Faraquet Faraquet is an American post-hardcore band from Washington D.C., United States, sometimes placed in the math rock genre. The trio formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2001 after releasing its debut full-length on Dischord Records. Faraquet were influ ...

The Dismemberment Plan The Dismemberment Plan was a Washington, D.C. based indie rock band formed on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or The Plan, the name was derived from an industry phrase used by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the popular comedy '' Ground ...

, The Monorchid,

The Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: '' 30° Everywhere'' ...

Dwindle Dwindle Distribution, based in El Segundo, California, is an American skateboard distributor. It is a component of Transom Capital Group Limited. The company was founded by Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen. Its formation is recognized as a key ev ...

, Pilot to Gunner,

Paint It Black "Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European in ...

None More Black None More Black is a New Jersey-based punk rock outfit on Fat Wreck Chords, formed by lead singer/guitarist Jason Shevchuk after the demise of his previous band, Philadelphia's Kid Dynamite. Jason left Kid Dynamite so that he could finish fi ...

, Jawbreaker, Discount, Against Me!, Goodbye Soundscape,

Modern Life is War Modern Life Is War is an American hardcore punk band formed in Marshalltown, Iowa in 2002. During Modern Life Is War's six-year original run, the band released three full-length albums and one self-titled 7" EP. Despite a growing profile on the u ...

, Stapleton,

Murder By Death ''Murder by Death'' is a 1976 American comedy mystery film directed by Robert Moore and written by Neil Simon. The film stars Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, M ...

mewithoutYou MewithoutYou, usually styled as mewithoutYou, was an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band consisted of Aaron Weiss (vocals), Michael Weiss and Brandon Beaver (guitars), Greg Jehanian (bass guitar), and Rickie Mazzotta ...

, Black Cross (hardcore),

Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the di ...

, Caustic Casanova,

The Sword The Sword was an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its t ...

, Debate (from Sao Paulo, Brazil),

Coliseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

, Hammer No More the Fingers,

Small Brown Bike Small Brown Bike is a band from Marshall, Michigan, United States that started in 1996. The trademark of Small Brown Bike is their "double vocals" backed by melodies. Their sound is often identified as being similar to other post-hardcore band ...

, Broadcaster, Noyo Mathis and Nakatomi Plaza.

Personal life

In 2007, Robbins's son Callum was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, an incurable nerve disorder. A number of benefit shows for Callum Robbins have been organized and played in cities such as Chicago, Washington DC, Minneapolis, and New York.

References

External links

J. Robbins producer/engineer and Magpie Cage Recording Studio
– Official website.
Office of Future Plans
– Official band website.

on Aural States (Oct 2009)
Interview with Robbins and his new band, Channels, from ''Punk Planet'' 64

Interview with Robbins from punknews.org

Interview with Robbins from Sound Bites Dog E-Zine

Benefit drive for Cal Robbins

Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal – Ep96: J. Robbins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, J. Living people 1967 births 20th-century American guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Songwriters from Washington, D.C. Government Issue members